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Toyota Corolla Paint Problems

280 messages,  Last post on May 03, 2013 at 10:56 AM

You are in the Toyota Corolla Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Corolla, Sedan

Messages Page 28 of 29

#269 of 280 Re: Toyota Corolla Paint Problems [tunawitch40] by barryw4

Nov 13, 2012 (10:22 pm)

Replying to: tunawitch40 (Nov 07, 2012 3:06 pm)
General comments (see 'Paint' below)
I am one of the first ones to defend a good product, but by the same token, I won't turn a blind eye when I think quality has slipped.
 
I have owned Toyotas for thirty years, including four Corollas (1984, 1997, 2004, and 2009 [I also owned a 1978 Celica hatchback from 1982 - 2008]) and I have generally been a satisfied customer. In my humble opinion, the 2009 seems to have a slightly 'cheaper' feel overall compared to my 2004. Mostly small things like too much cheap-looking plastic in the interior, floating foam blocks in the front fenders (visible from the driver's seat with the door open), wheel wells without gravel shields, and even the fuel door is so light it feels cheap (lighter materials = better gas mileage?). I mainly bought the 2009 b/c of my past (good) experience with Toyotas and the excellent fuel economy. No mechanical problems to date other than a 'false' check engine code (cylinder #3), although i've read that water pumps in the 2009 may be prone to failure.
 
Paint
The in-service date for the 2009 is Nov 2008 an I bought it ('certified') in Nov 2010. It has blue streak metallic paint and looked great when I bought it as the dealer's 'make-ready' department did an excellent prep job. Once the dealer's wax (or whatever they used) wore off, I saw what I thought was an excessive number of nicks in the nose piece, but I assumed that the previous owner dove on roads with loose gravel.
 
The car has primarily been garage kept over the last two years (not sure about the first 2 years), although it does see some sun. While waxing the car last weekend, I saw a lot of small, mostly roundish areas of cracked paint (liked dried, cracked mud) on the trunk lid where I can see down to the primer. Other areas of the roof are also starting to 'crack', with some areas the size of a quarter. The paint on the top surfaces (hood, roof, and trunk lid) seem to have thinner paint than the sides, which are fine far. You would think that a chemical was spilled on the surface, but I know that is not the case. Seeing many other similar posts confirms my suspicion that it's just a low quality paint job.
 
Again, it's just one man's opinion - sorry for the long winded post, it's my first one, but I was compelled to finally respond after reading other posts where Toyota defenders suggest that this is normal paint wear.

#270 of 280 Re: Toyota Corolla Paint Problems [barryw4] by mcdawgg

Nov 14, 2012 (5:51 am)

Replying to: barryw4 (Nov 13, 2012 10:22 pm)
All I can say is the EPA has forced ALL automakers to use different paint on newer cars, so it is hard to compare your older vs. the 2009. If we went back to lead-based paint, it would last and look good forever, but that has it's own worse problems. I don't see any complaints about rust, etc. so that's good. Check Toyotanation.com

#271 of 280 Re: Toyota Corolla Paint Problems [mcdawgg] by barryw4

Nov 14, 2012 (8:13 am)

Replying to: mcdawgg (Nov 14, 2012 5:51 am)
No rust yet, but that will probably come later. The car is in excellent shape inside and out and has under 30,000 miles (I drive it about 6K/yr) and I thought I had a car to last another 20 years (I keep most cars until they drop - I also have a '92 Maxima), but I just can't live with bad paint (a pet peeve) so I will sell it to my son and move on. If he keeps it I'll probably end up having to pay for a partial paint job in 4-5 years anyway - can't win.
 
I'll visit the dealer's 'make ready' shop to see what products they recommend to retard the deterioration, but that's just a stop-gap measure.
 
I checked out Toyotanation - thanks.

#273 of 280 Re: 2006 Toyota Corolla [orca6] by hkminkler

Feb 12, 2013 (4:19 pm)

Replying to: orca6 (Oct 11, 2011 1:35 pm)
I have a 2005 and my car is doing the same thing. At first I thought it was just my car, but I am seeing rusting corolla's everywhere now!

#276 of 280 2006 Toyota paint peeling by angelao

Feb 14, 2013 (7:00 am)

I'll repost without the email so no one else is adversely affected. Totally informational, as was the original post on January 6th. verbatim...minus the email...obviously there are no ill intentions. just seeking information
 
Hi,
I am new to this forum and ran it across it for the first time yesterday after being at the body shop to quote a paint job for my 06 Corolla. The paint is peeling so badly off the roof and I just saw it for the first time over the Christmas/New Year holiday when nothing could be done because everyone was off or closed. I am extremely upset as this should not be happening to a car of this age, regardless of the make or model. I have been the only owner of this car as I purchased it brand new. When I went to the body shop I asked if they had been aware of other Toyota Corollas with a similar problem and the guy said yes he had seen a few this way. He also confirmed that due to the nature of the paint peeling there is no way to just sand it and repaint that spot because there is obviously a defect in the original paint or the way the original paint was to adhere. Therefore it will be a minimum of $1200 to fix this problem because the entire roof has to be stripped and the windshield (back and front) has to be removed. And it is rusting! So time is of an essence. Would you please reply to my post about what you all have done regarding your issues? I am currently searching the internet to see if any legal actions that have been taken because this is obviously a wide spread problem over the course of many years. Please help!
Thanks!

#277 of 280 Toyota Corolla 2010 many many tiny rust spots by luvmycarolla

Apr 29, 2013 (1:17 pm)

It was a nice bright day yesterday and while drying the car I noticed many,many rust colored spots on the doors, mostly below the trim line. Oddly nothing on the quarter panels hood,trunklid or roof. You had to be very close up to see them, from a distance with normal eyesight, you would never notice. You can feel some texture if you run your hand over the area. I am the second owner of the car and it only has 17 k km. What a shame. The car is white so really closeup they are quite obvious. Some appear on the sills, which are plastic right? So that's a bit odd. Maybe defective paint rather than metal rusting from underneath?
My friend has a white 2005 Echo with similar symptoms. I suppose you could buff them off but would that be a good idea? Then some acrylic treatment?

#278 of 280 Re: 2006 Toyota paint peeling [angelao] by hgredhd83

May 02, 2013 (7:27 pm)

Replying to: angelao (Feb 14, 2013 7:00 am)
Hi! I saw your post and my mom is having the same problem with her blue 2006 Toyota Corolla. At first we thought it was the heat of the Texas weather but we started seeing other Corollas on the highways with the same problem. Mainly blue ones like her. I tried doing research on recalls and came up with nothing. Have you had any luck on finding any further information?
 
Thank you!!

Messages Page 28 of 29

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